Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to managing systems and managing methods for managing tenants.
Description of the Related Art
In cloud systems, the data of customers that use the system is managed in units called tenants, where each customer has a dedicated area. There are also cases where a service provider is contracted by a customer to manage that customer's data. In the case where a service provider manages a large-scale customer in which multiple group companies or bases of operations are present, it is difficult for a single service provider to handle the management of that customer. As such, by sharing the management of a customer with another service provider, a single customer is managed by a sharing source service provider and a sharing destination service provider. In the case where a sharing source-sharing destination relationship exists between service providers, the sharing source service provider typically has more usable functions than the sharing destination service provider. For example, the sharing source service provider can cancel the sharing relationship, restrict the functions the sharing destination service provider can use, and so on.
With such systems, there are cases where the service provider ceases to exist due to elimination/consolidation of the service provider company or the like. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-196649 discloses a technique for a tenant managing apparatus employing user identification information, public tenant information of managing devices, and so on. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-196649, the managing apparatus is capable of lightening the burden of system transfers when consolidating tenants, splitting tenants up, and so on.
For example, in the case where a service provider ceases to exist due to elimination/consolidation of the service provider company or the like, a replacement service provider provides services to the customer, and it is thus necessary to transfer the information managed by a transfer source service provider to a transfer destination service provider. It is also necessary to change the information regarding the customer management sharing mentioned above when transferring information managed by the transfer source service provider to the transfer destination service provider. For example, consider a case of a transfer from a service provider X to a service provider A. In this case, sharing information indicating that “service provider B shares with service provider X” is changed to “service provider B shares with service provider A”.
However, the sharing information cannot be changed as described above in the case where the transfer source service provider X and the transfer destination service provider A have been sharing the management of the same customer before the transfer. If, for example, sharing information indicating that “service provider A shares with service provider X” is changed as described above, the information will become “service provider A shares with service provider A”. This sharing information is incorrect, and for example, in an environment where the sharing source service provider has more usable functions than the sharing destination service provider, there is a risk that correct function restrictions cannot be carried out.